What is rationalism

A philosophical theory which claims that we can arrive at substantial

knowledge about the nature of the world by pure reasoning,without appeal to
any empirical premises. Rationalism holds reason as the absolute foundation
for knowledge. A rationalist upholds the following views:
(1) A privileging of reason and intuition over sensation and experience,
(2) Regarding all or most ideas as innate rather than adventitious,
(3) An emphasis on certain rather than merely probable knowledge as the goal
of enquiry.
Write a short note on descartes

Descartes is a French philosopher, mathematician. He us usually considered as

the
founder of modern philosophy. He emphasized the practical character of
philosophy. He used
mathematics as a model of his philosophical method. In mathematics his most
important contribution is the invention of co-ordinate Geometry. However his
most important contributions
are in Philosophy
 Descartes is known for his method of doubt, which is famously known as
the method of Cartesian Doubt. In order to have a firm basis for his
philosophy, he resolves to
make himself doubt everything that he can manage to doubt
What do you mean by Cartesian
dualism
Cartesian Dualism:
Descartess belief that he can be more certain of
the existence of himself as a thinking
thing than as a body suggests a division between
the mind and the body. The mind is the real self
whose body may or may not exist. The mind can
outline the body. This sharp separation between
.
 mind and body has come to be known as Cartesian
Dualism. Descartes believes that mind and
body,although in principle separable, interact,
and consequently his view is sometimes also
known as interactionism. Gilbert Ryle, a British
Philosopher criticized this division of mind
body
dualism as the Dogma of the Ghost in the
machine
What was Descartes view of god

One of the ideas I find in myself is the idea of

God. Now, nothing
can come from nothing, whatever exists must
have a cause for existing (this is a self-evident
proposition). Moreover, the cause must be at least
as great as the effect, at least there must be as
 much reality in it as in the effect. That which
contains grater reality in itself, the more perfect,
cannot be a consequence of, and dependent on,
the less perfect. Hence I myself cannot be the
causeof the idea of God, for I am a finite,
imperfect being, and the idea is the idea of a
perfect,
 infinite being. Hence, the idea must have placed in me by an infinite being,
or God, and God
must exist.
It is also unthinkable that the divine perfections, which I conceive, should
have more than
one cause, for if these causes were many, they would not be perfect; to be
perfect there must be
one cause only, one God. God must be self-caused, for if he is the effect of
another being, then
 that being is the effect of another, and so on ad infinitum: we have an infinite
regress and never
reach any effect.
Descartes believes that the idea of God that I have received is from God
himself and it is
innate. It is like the mark of a workman imprinted on his work, God has
imprinted the idea of
God in me at the time of creation
What is empiricism

In Philosophy the word Empiricism is used

to refer to the theory that all knowledge is
derived from experience. It was developed
mainly by a number of British Philosophers
(hence it
isalso called British Empiricism), of whom
the most important are Locke, Berkeley
and Hume.
 Empiricism rejects the view that knowledge is based on
intuition/deduction or innate
ideas.In so far as we have knowledge in the subject, our
knowledge is a posteriori, which means
dependent upon sense experience.
Empiricistsalso deny the implication of the corresponding
Innate Concept thesis that we
have innate ideas in the subject. Sense experience is our
only source of ideas.
Write a short note on hume's empiricism
Humes view is empiricism: our knowledge
has its source in experience
It is positivism: our knowledge is limited
to the world of phenomena
It is agnosticism: we know nothing of
ultimate, substances, causes, soul, ego,
external world, universe, etc.
It is humanism: the human-mental world
is the only real subject of our study.
What are impressions

Impressionsare our more lively perceptions,

when we hear or see or feel or love or hate or
desire or will: that means all our sensations,
passions, and emotions as they make their first
appearance in the soul (mind). All our thoughts or
ideas are copies of such impressions: they are
 theless lively perceptions, the faint or feeble
impressions; of which we are conscious when we
reflect
on any of the sensations or movements
mentioned. Outward impressions, or sensations
arisein the soul from unknown causes, while the
inward impressions are derived from our ideas:
eg.An impression strikes upon the senses and we
perceive heat or cold, pleasure or pain.
MAXIM 1: Always act in such a
way that you will the maxim or
determining principle of your
action to become a universal law.


MAXIM 2: Act in such a way that you treat

humanity, whether in your own person or
in the
person of any other, never merely as a
means to an end, but always at the same
time as an end.
MAXIM 3: Therefore, every
rational being must so act as if
he were through his maxim
always
a legislating member in the
universal kingdom of ends
What is categorical imperative

TheCategorical Imperative is a universal

and necessary law, a priori, and it is
inherent in
reason itself. It is present in the
commonest man; though he may not be
clearly conscious of it, it
governshis moral judgments, it is his
standard of right and wrong.
dasein

Heidegger begins by considering Dasein (a term Heidegger uses to refer to the

human person,
Originally from the German: Da means there and sein means being.
Hence Dasein
means being there) in its average everydayness